Category: Brain Injury

How to Deal With Head Injuries After a Car Accident

Tuesday, April 12, 2022
One of the most common types of injuries suffered in auto accidents in San Antonio is a head injury. Head injuries, such as skull fractures or contusions, can lead to brain trauma. A traumatic brain injury, or TBI, can cause significant symptoms that impact the victim for life. It is critical to know how to correctly deal with a head injury after a car accident in San Antonio for your own physical wellbeing, as well as to strengthen a legal claim to damages.

See a Doctor Immediately

Brain injuries are incredibly serious and require immediate medical care. There is no such thing as a minor head injury. Any bump, jolt or blow to the head deserves professional medical attention right away. It is especially important to go to a hospital after a car accident in San Antonio if you experience any of the following symptoms, which could point to a traumatic brain injury:
  • Headaches
  • Dizziness
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Disorientation or confusion
  • Issues with memory or recollection
  • Trouble sleeping
  • Mood swings
  • Seizures
  • Any loss of consciousness
With these symptoms, you could have a brain injury from your car accident. Common types of brain injuries include concussion, diffuse axonal brain injury, hematoma, edema and hemorrhage. These are all serious traumatic brain injuries that can occur in an auto accident and inflict life-changing symptoms. Prompt medical care can help you relieve the symptoms associated with a brain injury, and may save your life.

Follow Your Doctor’s Treatment Recommendations

If you are diagnosed with head trauma or a brain injury after a car accident, a doctor will give you a personalized treatment plan. Your treatment plan may involve bed rest and avoiding potentially dangerous activities that could give you a second head injury, such as sports. A second brain injury too close to the first can lead to a more serious injury and related symptoms. Other head trauma treatments may include medications, physical therapy and rehabilitation. The most serious brain injuries can also require neurosurgery to repair parts of the brain or prevent further brain damage from swelling. Follow your doctor’s treatment plan exactly for the best prognosis for recovery.

Attend Follow-Up Appointments

Do not miss any follow-up appointments with your doctor or a brain injury specialist. These appointments can be critical for your recovery. Skipping appointments can show an insurance company that you are not doing your part to mitigate your losses connected to the head injury. This can result in the rejection of your insurance claim or a reduction of case value.

Document Your Medical Care

Document all of your medical care in the aftermath of a car accident. Careful and accurate documentation and recordkeeping can help you build a stronger car accident injury claim. Ask for copies of your relevant medical records and bills after receiving treatment for a head injury. If your brain injury made you miss work, document your lost wages, as well.

Keep an Injury Journal

It is also important to document the personal side of your brain injury case. Head trauma and brain damage are catastrophic because they can alter a victim’s quality of life. They can cause behavioral, cognitive and emotional changes, as well as mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. Keep a record of everything you are feeling and experiencing as you heal from your head injury. An injury journal can help you demonstrate how the injury impacted your life to a judge or jury.

File a Car Accident Lawsuit With Help From an Attorney

If you believe someone else is responsible for causing your car accident in San Antonio, contact a car accident attorney to help you file a lawsuit. Filing a claim against a careless driver or another party could result in financial compensation for the losses associated with your head injury, including medical bills and lost wages. Learn more about your legal rights and filing a car accident lawsuit by consulting with an attorney today.
Posted by Aaron Herbert at 1:23 pm

What Is the Difference Between a Concussion and a Traumatic Brain Injury?

Monday, February 5, 2018
Brain injuries devastate families in ways more severe than almost any other type of injury one can suffer. The Law Firm of Aaron A. Herbert, P.C., has been helping Texans in the San Antonio area find relief after suffering brain injuries of all kinds. Concussions and traumatic brain injuries can leave the victims and their families with expensive medical bills and long rehabilitation that require time missed from work. Our attorneys have seen the effects of these injuries and know your case deserves meticulous attention and care for you to receive the benefits you are entitled to.

Sorting Out the Confusion

A traumatic brain injury is an injury that results in physical trauma to the brain. This usually comes from a blow to the head, or even an object penetrating the skull. The brain is a complex organ and damage to any part of it can have unpredictable results. Changes in personality or violent mood swings can result, as well as loss of concentration, and difficulties with memory retention and formation. Brain injury also can result in more serious damage, such as loss of motor skills and impairment of even basic functions such as feeding oneself or taking care of personal hygiene. There is a range of injuries that can occur to the brain. Milder injuries may affect fewer tasks and cause fewer impairments for the victim of the injury. They also may heal within a few months and leave fewer lasting problems. More serious injuries, on the other hand, may result in severe physical or mental impairment.

Concussion as a Traumatic Brain Injury

A concussion is a milder form of a brain injury. This does not mean a concussion is not a serious injury; however, it may be less serious than other forms of traumatic brain injury. Concussions can result in a number of serious symptoms including:
  • Bad headaches, including migraines
  • A fog of confusion that leaves victims unable to easily or clearly comprehend events going on around them
  • Nausea
  • Dizziness
  • Difficulty concentrating or problems with memory
  • Irritability and changes in personality
  • Heightened sensitivity to light and noise
These symptoms may be mild compared with more severe brain injuries, but they are often debilitating for victims. Concussion sufferers are also four to six times more likely to suffer another concussion in the future.

Brain Injury by the Numbers

The prevalence of traumatic brain injury nationwide, including concussions, is far too common. More than 900,000 traumatic brain injuries occur each year, and a number of these injuries happen in Texas (injured parties reported 23,000 traumatic brain injuries in Texas each year). This represents tens of thousands of people that brain injury impacts each year. Falls are the most common source of these injuries including slip-and-falls suffered in a store or on a sidewalk; falls from scaffolds or ladders in the workplace; or trips over obstructions or damaged flooring on stairs. When an adult falls even from just standing height, the results are often injury to the brain. If you’ve suffered a brain injury after a fall, it’s important to work with a slip and fall lawyer in San Antonio to fully understand your legal options for compensation. The next most common source of brain injuries are motor vehicle accidents. Modern vehicles have sophisticated safety devices, but this has not prevented all injuries related to crashes. In Texas, approximately 7,200 hospitalizations for brain injuries result from motor vehicle accidents, and more than 9% of these injuries are fatal.

Traumatic Brain Injury Compared to Concussions

Concussions are one of the milder forms of traumatic brain injuries, but victims still suffer physical and mental effects. Traumatic brain injuries are common, and those who suffer them as a result of an accident may have many months of medical treatment and rehabilitation to recover from their injuries. Severe traumatic brain injuries may require years of treatment, and victims may never fully regain the mental and physical abilities they had before their injury.
Posted by mockingbird at 10:30 pm